Colin Powell in Houston

The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Colin Powell is not backing down from his stand on the issue of American Principles…Nor the decision to invade Iraq.

American principles are vital to terror fight, Powell says: “Former Secretary of State Colin Powell defended Wednesday the decision to invade Iraq and topple leader Saddam Hussein, at the same time acknowledging the Bush administration has misjudged and mismanaged the aftermath of the war.”

His comments were at a speech yesterday at the meeting of the World Affairs Council of Houston.

“This is a conflict that cannot be solved by the American army. We have 140,000 (troops) there. If we had 200,000 it isn’t going to be the answer because the answer has to be with the Iraqi people. The answer has to be an Iraqi government that starts to meet its responsibility.”“What terrorists cannot do is change the nature of our society Ã— a society that rests solidly on the rule of law and constitutional principles, a society that respects openness and difference of opinion. Only we can change that … I’m determined to defeat the terrorists by remaining an open, welcoming place that the world respects,”

It’s too bad that President Bush doesn’t have the same respect for America that seems to be ingrained in those of our leaders who actually served this country in the armed forces. I am not saying that military service is mandatory to instill this respect, but if your only examples were this administration, it sure would be hard to prove otherwise.The words that keep running through my head are “common good”. Of all of the guiding principles that have set this country apart, the providing for the “common good” has to be the most important. That is where our road systems, our school systems, our police and military, even our park system come from , providing for the “common good” of the American people. And it is all of these systems and more that this administration is out to demolish, if not by fiat then by pure greed and incompetence.If nothing else I feel this election cycle is about providing once more for the “common good”. It is time that the President’s base (and I am not talking about conservatives or the religious right but the silver spoon base he comes from) to rejoin America and work with the rest of us in providing for the “common good” of all Americans, today, tomorrow, next year and next century. If not there won’t be an America to worry about.